The Pathfinder Fundamentals tutorial is designed with no assumption of previous knowledge. The topics covered will include all of the necessary functions to create, customize, and analyze a pedestrian evacuation model. The reader will gain the skills to successfully replicate these actions on other evacuation models.
Learn the basics in Pathfinder Fundamentals

This post demonstrates how to use straight and curved ramps in Pathfinder. Straight ramps are supported using the Create Ramp tool, while curved ramps require CAD import and use of the Extract Floor tool.

We have begun coupling PyroSim fire results with Pathfinder movement. The first major task was to create a Results Viewer that could merge and display PyroSim and Pathfinder results simultaneously. That has largely been completed. We have also completed limited capability to calculate the Fractional Effective Dose (FED) as occupants move through changing CO, CO2, and O2 concentrations. Future development will use PyroSim results to alter occupant movement and decision making within the Pathfinder simulation. In this post, we demonstrate the capability currently available in Pathfinder 2018.1 and PyroSim 2017.2. See the post Manually Coupling FDS and Pathfinder to Respond to Smoke for instructions on how to link fire simulation output with evacuation simulation movement

The next releases of Pathfinder and PyroSim will include the capability to import Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) files that describe building data. In Pathfinder, this can significantly speed model creation since it includes automatic extraction of floors, doors, and stairs. This post demonstrates this feature.

A long-term development goal has been to fully couple the PyroSim/FDS fire results with Pathfinder evacuation. A first step toward this goal is the capability to display both fire and evacuation results in the same results viewer. However, full coupling of the two simulations has not been completed. In the interim, it is possible to run the fire simulation, monitor the reduced visibility due to smoke, and then manually use that information to slow and re-direct occupants in response to the fire. This provides an example.

Pathfinder 2018.3 will include basic monte carlo simulation tools to automate multiple simulations where the initial positions and properties of occupants are randomized. This post demonstrates this capability.

In July of 2017, Thunderhead participated in the People Movement and Management Show held in Derby, UK. Our goal was to introduce Pathfinder to the people movement audience. Pathfinder was originally developed for emergency evacuation simulation as a companion product to PyroSim, our fire simulator. But we are adding features that will make it possible ...

During evacuation using stairs, the geometry of the stairs and landings can change the merging behavior. On the landing, the occupants entering from the floor must merge with the occupants already on the incoming stairs. This post discusses Pathfinder simulations of these effects.

In this example, we show some advanced evacuation features of Pathfinder: a refuge floor, evacuation using banks of elevators, and firefighters in stairs moving against the flow in the evacuation of a high-rise building.

This post demonstrates how to use Pathfinder to simulate movement in a subway station, with trains arriving and departing from the station. A growing list of features not specific to evacuation, such as occupant sources and assisted evacuation, make Pathfinder applicable to a much broader range of pedestrian movement problems.